Friday, March 29, 2024

AWRIGHT DEN!: Bizzy, I thank you

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IT ISN’T ONLY BIBLICAL, but it is also a kind, wise, loving and responsible thing to do once it is possible.

Unfortunately, my parents couldn’t afford it, but if they could, I know they would have made that investment for all four of their children.

My wife was in a similar position as I and as a result, when we got married, we didn’t have a head start like some of my friends did; or so I thought.

By now you are wondering what it is that I could be talking about and I wouldn’t keep you much longer. I am talking about leaving an inheritance for your children and grandchildren.

Since becoming a parent, I have sat many times and dreamed about being able to give all my children land, a house, a vehicle and money as wedding gifts and leave for my grandchildren “a piece of the rock”. If I am able to fulfil this desire, many would say that I was a good man in leaving an inheritance for the next generation.

Each day, as I gain new knowledge, experience new things and meet new people and hear their stories, my perception and views of life are constantly being challenged. Last Sunday night, I was sent a video via facebook that not only challenged my outlook and changed my life, but has redefined what I thought leaving an inheritance was.

From the start of the video, I was captivated and as the video continued I wanted more and I know there are people who cried while watching it. The video can be found on YouTube and it is titled Nation News Extra Bizzy Williams.

I must warn you, by the end of the video some of the emotions you may be experiencing are shock, disappointment, anger and disbelief. I wouldn’t rob you by revealing what he shared but Barbadians must watch this video.

I always thought of inheritance based on the things I mentioned above but listening to the situations Bizzy Williams has faced and is still facing has changed all of that. At the heart of leaving an inheritance is to make life easier; to be able to sustain wealth, growth and development; to make it possible to seize and create opportunities and to give an advantage to the next generation.

After listening to Bizzy pour his heart out, I have concluded that inheritance isn’t only a family thing but also a national thing. Our forefathers suffered, persevered and sacrificed so future generations could have a better life and all of us have benefited from the inheritance left.

Some of these include the introduction of free education and health care; the building of an airport, seaport and the ABC highway; becoming an independent nation; the establishment of the UWI Cave Hill Campus, the Barbados Community College, the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Erdiston Teachers’ College, the QEH and polyclinics, the National Cultural Foundation, the National Stadium and the Supreme Court.

We as citizens of Barbados have a responsibility to preserve and protect the excellent inheritance we have been given. We also have a responsibility to pass on these inheritances to future generations and create and establish new ones to support the development of this nation and its people.

With the introduction and advancement of new technologies and the acquisition and access to new information, we have an obligation to our forefathers, ourselves, our children and future generations to assess and evaluate what we need to keep, what needs updating and modernising and what needs to end.

If a policy, a method, a plant, an organisation, a structure or even a government isn’t relevant or beneficial to the current and future Barbados, it should be cut off. Nothing should remain that could damage or limit the sustainability or value of the inheritance to be passed on. Even the choice of the people we select to lead us can be beneficial and profitable or detrimental and cancerous to our inheritance.

Here are a few things to think on: oil versus renewable energy; set dates for elections; a new style of governance; restricted terms for a prime minister; investment in sugar cane; reforming of the education sector.

We must decide; our future depends on it.

Corey Worrell is a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. Email coreyworrell@gmail.com

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